This disclosure relates to the formation of fabric preforms for composite components. In particular, this application relates to manipulation of a fabric to improve fabric preform quality.
Composite components are often used in applications in which having a high strength-to-weight ratio is important such as, for example, aircraft components. Many structural composite components can be made by wrapping a high-strength fabric around a form to create what is known as a fabric preform, applying a resin to the fabric preform, and then curing the resin to form the final composite component.
Fabrics for composite components are often provided on spools and then re-wrapped onto a form or mandrel that is cylindrical or nearly cylindrical to create the fabric preform. In some instances, the fabric, to some extent, may shift to accommodate a change in shape of the form or the fabric surrounding the form. Even for truly cylindrical forms, it is often the case that portions of the fabric are not perfectly re-wrapped onto the form and areas of wrinkling or creasing may form. However, this change is most pronounced when a relatively planar fabric is reshaped to a form having, for example, a flange or a joggle in the structure.
There remains a need for improved methods of wrapping fabric around forms to create fabric preforms, particularly those with complex shapes.